One of the distortions of my book is that it is about homosexuality. The truth is, it is about avoiding schism. The inclusion of the human sexuality issue was illustrative of how the three foundational elements can be used to address the flash-fire topic threatening to divide the Church.

So, I want to use the opening posts in this series to restore the original intent of the book; that is, using the principle of love, the practice of non-judgment, and the practice of holy conversation to maintain unity in the Body of Christ.

In doing this, I want to be clear that I am not walking away from the human sexuality issue. I will return to that when the time is right. But I believe there are underlying factors which make our conversations about human sexuality so caustic–factors which go beyond any one topic and threaten the overall genuineness and wellbeing of the Church. If we hope to see the principle of love, the practice of non-judgment, and the process of holy conferencing have influence, these “termites in the temple” must be faced.

In the initial postings in this series, I will examine some of the things I believe are eating away at the infrastructure of the Church in our time. After that, I will return to the three pillars in the book and use them to share new thoughts about how they might be used of God to maintain the spirit of unity in the Bride of Christ.

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About jstevenharper

Retired seminary professor, who taught for 32 years in the disciplines of Spiritual Formation and Wesley Studies. Author and co-author of 31 books. Also a retired Elder in The Florida Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church